Saudi complex adopts company’s grooved technology

Victaulic, manufacturer of mechanical pipe joining systems, has announced that the Development of King Abdul Aziz Endowment (DOKAAE) in Mecca, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is one of the latest projects to use its grooved piping technology. Announcing this, the company added that the developer and contractor was the Saudi Binladin Group, reportedly the largest construction company in Saudi Arabia.

Victaulic gave details of the project: the DOKAAE complex, known as the Abraj Al-Bait Towers, includes seven towers with a maximum capacity of 65,000 guests or visitors. The seven structures currently hold several world records of their own, including the world’s tallest clock tower at 530 metres, the largest clock face at 1,849 m2 and the world’s largest floor area at approximately 1.5 million m2, with the towers also containing the world’s tallest hotel, which at 601 m is currently the second highest building in the world.

Victaulic grooved mechanical piping systems were used in all areas of DOKAAE, including HVAC, fire protection and desalination, with pipe sizes ranging from 2” up to 60” (50.8 to 1525 mm) and pressure ratings of up to 17.75 bars, with piping materials of both copper and stainless steel, the company said.

According to Victaulic, the project took over seven years to complete and includes a nine-storey chilling plant with more than 65,000 tonnes of cooling water capacity, where its products have been used extensively, including 168 heat exchangers, as well as on main connections and risers. Using its systems enabled prefabrication, whilst flame-free assembly using grooved products not only speeded up installation times but also kept welding to a minimum, as local ambient temperatures rose to over 50 degrees centigrade, it claimed.